The News
Thursday 28 of March 2024

IAAF argued in court that Semenya is 'biologically male'


AP Photo,FILE - In this Friday, May 3, 2019 file photo, South Africa's Caster Semenya competes in the women's 800-meter final during the Diamond League in Doha, Qatar. The governing body of track argued in court that Caster Semenya is
AP Photo,FILE - In this Friday, May 3, 2019 file photo, South Africa's Caster Semenya competes in the women's 800-meter final during the Diamond League in Doha, Qatar. The governing body of track argued in court that Caster Semenya is "biologically male" and that is the reason she should reduce her natural testosterone to be allowed to compete in female competitions. The IAAF's stance on Semenya and other female athletes affected by its testosterone regulations was revealed in a 163-page decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport that was released publicly for the first time on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, file)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The governing body of track argued in court that Caster Semenya is “biologically male” and that is the reason she should reduce her natural testosterone to be allowed to compete in female competitions.

The IAAF’s stance on Semenya and other female athletes affected by its testosterone regulations was revealed in a 163-page decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport that was released publicly for the first time on Tuesday.

In the redacted court records, the IAAF referred to the two-time Olympic champion from South Africa as one of a number of “biologically male athletes with female gender identities.”

At court, Semenya responded to the assertion by saying that being described as biologically male “hurts more than I can put in words.”

The IAAF won the case at CAS, allowing it to implement testosterone limits for Semenya and other female athletes who it says were born with typical male chromosome patterns.

Semenya has since appealed the verdict to Switzerland’s supreme court and won an interim ruling to temporarily suspend the hormone regulations.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports